Monday, March 17, 2014

As you know, we are a family that enjoys our pancakes. Depending on the time of year, the toppings vary (diced Pink Lady apples with walnuts during late winter/early spring, blackberries in summer, and festive pomegranates in early winter), but the pancake remains the same - until now that is.

Over the past year, we've had wheat and egg sensitivities in our family and so have needed to adapt our standard pancake recipe. We've started using Martha Stewart's simple pancake recipe, with a few alterations. They include replacing whole wheat flour with all purpose gluten free flour, and substituting flax meal combined with water for the egg.

For the all purpose gluten free flour, we use the Bob's Red Millversion. I like this one because unlike many gluten free products and flours, it does not contain rice flour. After learning about the concerns with arsenic associated with rice (whether conventional and organic), we have been moderating consumption of foods that are derived from it.

In place of one egg, we use 1 tablespoon of flax meal with 3 tablespoons of water (after mixing and letting sit for a few minutes before adding to batter). Replacing the egg with flax is a really easy system that we use for many recipes and it works wonderfully well.

I've been making vegan pancakes for about a year now. My family can't tell the difference. I add all sorts of extra to the mix: pumpkin, mashed banana, oatmeal, chopped nuts, chocolate chips (my 15 year old's favorite). And they freeze well which is a plus. Just pop them in the toaster the next morning for a quick and healthy breakfast. Bet wishes, Tammy

Looks delicious as usual! I use a similar recipe to yours by Allrecipes.com called, "Good Old Fashioned Pancakes" and it's delicious! I cook mine in organic coconut oil and they are so good! Sorry to hear about your sensitivities...that can throw a real wrench in the recipes.

As for the arsenic in rice, I have heard about the issue. I've actually written Lundberg rice over my concerns (I normally purchase Lundberg Organic Basmati rice) and they do extensive testing and are trying to better understand the issue. That's the short version for here. They have a lot of information on their website relating to that issue. I wrote to Riceland rice and they don't even acknowledge that it's an issue (I'd only buy their rice on occasion when I couldn't get to Whole Foods.). I try to research all of the foods we eat.

I just discovered that Martha pancake recipe and have tried it twice already and we love it. I will try your substitutes. We use our own blueberries from last summer and our daughter/son-in-law's maple syrup that they make...yum!! We are going to visit them this weekend in New York and they are making maple syrup right now...can't wait. Love your blog...beautiful as always. Any chance you might take over as Country Living editor...you would be great with your design ability...I see they need an editor. Thank you, Mickey

Have you tried Pamela's Pancake mix? I order it on Amazon (3 huge bags at a time). I leave the egg out and do not substitute anything and they are so yummy. I think it's the almond flour. I actually use this mix for almost all of my baking. It has baking soda or baking powder init….so I leave that out or the cake goes up and over the pan (yes….from experience). It also makes amazing chocolate chip cookies and muffins…and breads….I know I sound like an ad, but as a parent of a gf kid, we tossed out all regular flour as soon as the diagnosis came in. Lissa helped me with a master list 3 years ago, and it helped me avoid trying everything before finding what works. Give it a try. (and the site has TONS of recipes)….oh and I also buy Pamela's flour mix for times I just want straightforward flour for a recipe. It has been great. xo

That is a gorgeous photo. Thank you for sharing about the rice/arsenic connection. Like some of your other readers, I hadn't been aware of that, and I'm not sure that would have ever come across my radar, otherwise.

I just visited the Lundberg rice website after reading a comment above from Dream Mom, and was surprised to read this: "... arsenic is present in a wide array of foods, including flour, corn, wheat, fruit, poultry, rice and vegetables, as well as beer, wine, fruit juices and water ...". I think if we were fully aware of all the things that are present in our food and water, we wouldn't want to eat anything!